Every Company is a Media Company

Any company can become a media company, and any individual can become a publisher. In an era where there are abundant channels and tools to create, publish, distribute and re-use content, we as individuals are no doubt part of the reason why brands and businesses are pushed to publish media-quality content to engage us.

We consume content not only from traditional media, but also from businesses and people. Every company is catching up with (or even better, embracing) digital channels, fueling online avenues with branded content, trying to maximize their reach and fighting for the diminishing attention span of their audience. Brands are publishing content as would media companies. They create and publish company news, commentaries, articles, infographics, whitepapers and researches. Some even interview thought-leaders in their fields and have a calendar for content publishing.

This is nothing new, actually. Brands have been doing that for a long time. Look at this great infographics that provides a brief history of content marketing. Content marketing became the latest trend again because of the increasing number of digital channels. It’s social media, it’s mobile devices, it’s search engines that helped content travel and encouraged real-time engagement whenever sharing and commenting are possible.

As the marketer for PR Newswire, I am also trying to engage our audience with content, like this piece of blog post you’re reading. Yet the important question for me and many marketers and communications practitioners is how to improve our content and turn our PR & Marketing teams into a mini-media company within the organization. And translate these attention and interest into revenue for the business.

Last week, our Vice President, Commercial Operations (Asia Pacific) Dan Ye, spoke at “Marketing Insights”, an event organized by Marketing Interactive magazine and shared his insight on the “New Ecosystem of Content“. We pioneered the commercial news distribution industry 59 years ago and distributed an average of 400,000 plus pieces of content each year for over 60,000 customers across the globe. With the rise of digital channels, we see more and more companies produce high-quality content, pushing the boundaries of traditional media and creating opportunities and challenges for modern business communicators.

Watch the video below to hear why “every company is a media company.”

Dan highlighted the convergence across paid, owned and earned media, and how the lines between them are blurred. He also talked about content as an opportunity for businesses to engage in conversations, which now happens across all kinds of media. Yet the opportunity is only valid if businesses are sharing valuable high-quality content, and that they have to have a strategy to meet their ultimate business goal.

He ended the presentation with 3 key takeaways:

1. Content needs to work together as part of a larger strategy in order to deliver business goals.

2. A steady stream of high-quality content keeps conversations going and growing.

3. The distribution and syndication of your content enable discovery and pull new leads into your sales funnel.

Sarah Tam is the Regional Marketing Director for PR Newswire. Follow her on Twitter at @sarah_tam.